Dynamic endocrine testing. The Mayo Clinic model

An endocrine testing center (ETC) is a universal requirement for the practice of endocrinology. Modifications of the Mayo Clinic model for an ETC should be applicable to most endocrine practices. Key components of an ETC include a centralized testing area, registered nurse-physician team, detailed testing protocols, and patient education programs.     

基于HLA的可动态调配测试仿真系统

论文以CZ系列运载火箭发射前的系统测试为背景,设计并实现了一套完整的测试仿真系统.首先建立了控制系统、动力系统,遥测系统和利用系统的全数值测试仿真模型库.在此基础上通过对Matlab和RTI通信机制的研究,提出了一种HLA和simulink综合仿真建模的方法,实现了数值模型在HLA体系下的可动态调配.通过对单机模型的动态调配组装,系统可以完成从单机、分系统到总检查的一整套测试流程,达到了对系统功能几何级数扩展的目的,并能对视景模块进行实时驱动.系统具有较好的通用性和灵活性,为进一步扩展提供了平台.最后对系统运行结果进行了分析,结果表明,仿真模型具有较好的精度.     

Computerized testing.

Professionals using computerized testing require substantial training in the principles and procedures of testing and an awareness of the variables that affect test-taking behavior, such as distractions, sensory defects, and motivational level. Legal and ethical considerations involved in the use of automated interpretation services are noted, and the question of the comparability of standard and computerized tests is discussed. (8 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Dynamic compatibility testing of DMP 840, an experimental antitumor agent

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the potential for DMP 840, a novel experimental antitumor agent, to precipitate during injection or dilution with infusion solutions. The influence of predilution of the drug solution before injection and addition of buffers to the drug vehicle were also investigated. The compatibility of normal saline solution, pH 7.4 phosphate buffers, and human plasma with DMP 840 was examined in vitro under both static conditions and dynamic flow. The combination of DMP 840 solutions with normal saline solution resulted in conversion of the drug to an insoluble dihydrochloride salt. Under conditions of dynamic flow, precipitation, accompanied by large changes in turbidity, occurred at relatively high concentrations of the drug in the injection solution. Dilution of the injection solution below 2 mg/mL or slow injection avoided precipitation. As was the case with the normal saline system, turbidity changes after injection into protein-phosphate buffer (PPB) were dependent on the initial concentration of DMP 840 solution as well as the rate of administration. In addition, the maximum injection rate at which complete miscibility occurred increased exponentially as the drug injection solution was made more dilute. Buffering the DMP 840 injection solution with acetate buffer improved the miscibility of DMP 840 with PPB, which indicated that the turbidity increases were most likely due to conversion of the drug to its insoluble free base form. The observed effects of the buffer on the turbidity response agreed qualitatively with predictions from a graphical approach that considers the effects of dilution and pH changes on drug solubility. Despite these observations, no evidence for the formation of a solid precipitate could be found after injection of the unbuffered drug solution into PPB. Further investigation indicated that the presence of albumin in the PPB prevented the formation of a solid phase during injection. Likewise, fresh human plasma, spiked with 1 and 2 mg/mL solutions of DMP 840, showed no evidence for the formation of a solid precipitate.     

Culture and testing.

The accurate assessment of cognitive abilities in individuals not from mainstream Anglo-American backgrounds is encumbered by several factors. Chief among these is the difficulty of inferring underlying cognitive processes from performances on standardized tests. Recent developments in contextualist analyses of cognitive performance, such as cultural practice theory, argue (a) that skills are acquired in specific learning activity contexts and therefore tests of generalized cognitive functioning will inevitably provide a less than accurate portrayal of individuals' capacities; and (b) that appropriate assessment requires an understanding of the constraints that govern access to a person's knowledge and regulate the deployment of concepts and reasoning processes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Bias in testing.

Reviews the approaches that have been undertaken to detect cultural, content, predictive, and selection bias in mental tests. This includes analysis of subtle differences in the content of test items to which individuals react differently and the implications of statistical differences in predictions from test scores. It is argued that questions of bias are fundamentally questions of validity. A distinction is made between validity on one hand, and the question of whether a test should be used, even if valid, on the other. It is concluded that although on the technical side many things have been learned about the details of test bias, such research has not provided answers to social policy questions that must be decided regardless of whether tests are involved. (51 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Dynamic touch.

People can perceive a number of spatial and other properties of objects, without the benefit of vision, simply by wielding and hefting the objects. A variety of recent experiments are reported, showing that in this kind of touching, which is closely connected with the states of muscles, the nervous system cleverly exploits the physics of rotations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reality testing by schizophrenics.

Compared 15 schizophrenics with 15 controls of similar mental test status and educational background on 2 classes of elementary problems from a series of artifact testing tasks monitored by an automatic problem programing machine called the Heuristic Evaluation Problem Programmer. In terms of an index that reflects the ability to conduct the required inquiry efficiently, the groups did not differ significantly on statistical tests that employed between-Ss differences as the error variance. Repeated measures of group differences showed a small, but statistically significant, superiority for the control Ss. Intercorrelations between scores on various problem sets indicated that the tests were reliable. During the 1st 3/4 of the problem series, there was a marked inefficiency of performance in a small group of paranoid schizophrenics as compared with a group of chronic undifferentiated schizophrenics. (17 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Adaptive testing by computer.

Describes problems with conventional tests, in which all examinees take the same items; the advantages of adaptive tests are also described. Computer simulation results and results of other live-testing studies by J. G. Thompson and the present author (1980) are reviewed. Adaptive testing based on item response theory is also discussed. Results support theoretical predictions that adaptive tests can decrease testing time by about 50% while resulting in more precise measurements in comparison with conventional tests. Item pool and computer hardware and software requirements for adaptive testing are specified, and a microcomputer-based system for implementing adaptive testing in clinical environments is briefly described. (26 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Admissions testing on trial.

Criticisms of test use in educational admissions decisions frequently stem from fundamental disagreements about underlying values but may still be couched in test-specific technical terms. A. Nairn's (1980) claims regarding predictive validity are discussed, and the erroneous and misleading nature of these claims is demonstrated. The alternative of relying on previous grades alone rather than in combination with tests for purposes of admissions is reviewed. Criticisms of tests based on issues of bias, coachability, and secrecy are discussed and evaluated. (63 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Automation of psychological testing.

Programed the WAIS for automated administration to illustrate the usefulness of automated systems in providing psychological testing service to patients. The system can automatically administer the Block Design, Picture Arrangement, and Object Assembly subtests, measure the time each test item requires, and print out the seconds on a teletype machine. 35 male and female Ss were tested in a counterbalanced order on the 3 subtests under face-to-face testing procedures, and automated testing. Results indicate a high correlation in the scores obtained in the 2 methods. A higher mean Performance IQ was obtained with face-to-face testing. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Mental testing and immigration.

Responds to an article by R. J. Herrnstein (1981), which asserts that the statement "83% of the Jews, 80% of the Hungarians, 79% of the Italians, and 87% of the Russians were 'feeble-minded' " (L. J. Kamin, 1974) was made by the present author (LJK) and not H. H. Goddard (1913, 1917). LJK acknowledges that the statement was his and that the supporting data can be found in Goddard's 1917 paper on the testing on immigrants. Although Goddard stated that it was unwise to discard a scientific discovery because of apparent absurdity, it is pointed out that he did not use his scientific data to make an unqualified argument against immigration. (4 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Achievement testing in England.

Describes testing and grading practices in English schools. Objective tests have seldom been used, but consideration is now being given to the use of objective O-level tests for 16-yr-old students because of the unreliability of subjective examinations and the economy and efficiency of machine-scored tests. (0 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A primer of testing.

Presents a discussion of classical test theory, including test construction, administration, and use. The author covers basic statistical concepts in measurement, reliability, and validity; principles of sound test construction and item analysis; test administration and scoring; various procedures for transforming raw test data into scaled scores; and some future prospects in test design. Although basic testing concepts are discussed in the context of the popular multiple-choice group test of cognitive ability, the procedures and principles discussed are generic and applicable to most tests used in psychological and educational practice. (12 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Comparison of closed testing procedures for pairwise testing of means.

A Monte Carlo simulation was conducted to compare 9 pairwise multiple comparison procedures. Procedures were evaluated on the basis of any-pair power and all-pairs power. No procedure was found to be uniformly most powerful. A modification due to A. J. Hayter (1986) of Fisher's least significant difference was found to provide the best combination of ease of use and moderately high any-pair power in most cases. Pilot or exploratory studies can expect good power results with this relatively simple procedure. The greatest all-pairs power was usually provided by 1 of 2 partition-based versions of E. Peritz's (1970) procedure. Confirmatory studies will require such complex methods but may also need larger sample sizes than have been customary in psychological research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Self-adapted testing: A performance-improving variant of computerized adaptive testing.

We conducted an experiment that contrasted a variant of computerized adaptive testing, self-adapted testing, with two traditional tests, a relatively difficult one and a relatively easy one, that were constructed from the same bank of verbal ability items. In a self-adapted test, the examinee, rather than a computerized algorithm, chooses the difficulty of the next item to be presented. Participants completed a self-report of text anxiety and were randomly assigned to take one of the three tests of verbal ability. Analyses of variance using Rasch estimates of ability and the standard error of those estimates as dependent measures demonstrated that the self-adapted test led to higher ability estimates and minimized the effect of test anxiety without any overall loss of measurement precision. Analysis of the item choices in the self-adapted test suggested that, in general, participants chose more difficult items as the test progressed. Anxiety was negatively associated with the difficulty of the initial choice but not associated with the rate of progress to higher difficulty items. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Dynamic materials testing, texture, and yield-surface calculation of an automotive sheet steel

The relationships between the stress state and anisotropic mechanical response for a drawing-quality, special-killed (DQSK) mild sheet steel has been analyzed. The strain rate and temperature sensitivity of the flow stress and the insensitivity of the strain hardening to strain rate are shown to be consistent with thermal activation over a Peierls barrier as the rate-controlling mechanism for deformation in DQSK. A calculated yield surface, using the quadratic Hill criterion, is shown to produce an accurate correlation with the experimental results as a function of stress state. Annealing of the DQSK sheet steel at 773 K for 1 hour reduced some of the residual stresses developed during the forming process, but had little effect on the texture. The R values derived from computed yield surfaces suggested very little difference between in-plane (IP) and transverse tensile tests, consistent with the experimental results. A comparison of the stress-strain response with the calculated yield-surface and texture measurements correlates well with the relationships between the IP and through-thickness (TT) deformation.     

Dynamic mental representations.

This article pursues the possibility that perceivers are sensitive to implicit dynamic information even when they are not able to observe real-time change. Recent empirical results in the domains of handwriting recognition and picture perception are discussed in support of the hypothesis that perception involves acquiring information about transitions, whether the stimuli are static or dynamic. It is then argued that dynamic information has a special status in mental representation as well as in perception. In particular I propose that some mental representations may be dynamic, in that a temporal dimension is necessary to the representation. Recent evidence that mental representations may exhibit a form of momentum is discussed in support of this claim. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Improved Bonferroni-type multiple testing procedures.

[Correction Notice: An erratum for this article was reported in Vol 104(2) of Psychological Bulletin (see record 2008-06007-001). An error was made in the author note on page 145. Correspondence should be addressed to Burt S. Holland, Department of Statistics, Temple University, Speakman Hall (006-00), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19122. Margaret DiPonzio Copenhaver is now at Merck Sharp & Dohme Research Laboratories, West Point, Pennsylvania.] The Bonferroni multiple comparisons procedure is customarily used when doing several simultaneous tests of significance in relatively nonstandard situations in which other methods do not apply. We review some new and improved competitors to the Bonferroni procedure, that although constraining generalized Type I error probability to be at most α, afford increased power in exchange for increased complexity in implementation. An improvement to the weighted form of the Bonferroni procedure is also presented. Several data sets are reanalyzed with the new methods. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)